United Nations published this video item, entitled “John Kerry: “You cannot separate the ocean from the climate crisis” – UN Ocean Conference 2022″ – below is their description.
Remarks by John Kerry, United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, on the health of our ocean at the UN Ocean Conference 2022.
Speaking at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry today (28 Jun) said, “this is absolutely a critical moment for our oceans, yes, but also for our values and our principles,” adding that “none of us can ignore the threat to the rules based international order that Russia’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine presents.”
Kerry said, “while Russia’s actions in Ukraine are reprehensible, we cannot allow any of the excuses of Ukraine to stand in the way of the work we do this week and the work we must continue to do.”
He said, “the Environment and Climate don’t suddenly stop because of an invasion. Lives are at stake, and our ocean touches every single aspect of our lives, from the air we breathe to the food we eat.”
The former Secretary of State and Democratic Party presidential nominee said, “we need to realize that no conversation about the ocean is about the ocean alone. You cannot separate the ocean from the climate crisis and none of the climate crises can be dealt with without the ocean solutions and vice versa. Harmful emissions are making our ocean warmer, more acidic, less productive, and we are driving rising sea levels.”
He said, “we need to spur the transition to green shipping. If shipping were a nation, shipping would be the eighth largest emitter in the world.”
In May, he told the Plenary, the United States and Norway announced a green shipping challenge for COP 27 to help put that sector on a pathway towards full decarbonisation, no later than 2050, noting that ten economies supported the challenge during the Major Economies Forum. He encouraged others to join.
Kerry said, “we must stop the practice of reckless, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. We have zero prayer of achieving SDG 14 as long as entire fleets of vessels continue to operate with impunity. One country alone has thousands of vessels knowingly fishing illegally.”
Turning to plastics polution, he said, “all of us have seen the pictures of conglomerated garbage in the Pacific Ocean, and yet the problem is only increasing. Human beings actually ingest microplastics at the level of about one credit card per week without knowing it on a global basis. The UN mandate that was just decided and UNEA-5.2 to launch multilateral negotiations on global and legally binding agreement is more than welcome. It must translate into plastic reduction.”
The UN Ocean Conference is taking place from 27 June through 1 July, seeking science-based and innovative solutions to improve the health of our ocean.
United Nations YouTube Channel
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